aibioAbbott agrees to settle Gill case and preterm formula NEC claims for approximately $670 million
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Abbott Laboratories, a defendant in numerous NEC lawsuits, agreed to resolve the Gill case, where a jury awarded $495 million, and claims for about 2,000 other infants. About 1,700 lawsuits remain pending.
Key facts
- Company
- Abbott Laboratories (NYSE: ABT)
- News type
- Legal
- Primary source
- ABBOTT LABORATORIES Form 8-K filed August 20, 2026 (SEC EDGAR)
Abbott Laboratories (NYSE: ABT) entered into agreements to settle a verdict and a group of related claims over its specialty formulas for preterm infants for an aggregate amount of approximately $670 million, according to a Form 8-K filed August 20, 2026. Abbott is a defendant in numerous lawsuits alleging that preterm infants developed necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) as a result of being given certain Abbott preterm infant formula products. Some of the claims name both Abbott and Mead Johnson as defendants.
What the filing says
The agreements resolve the case of a plaintiff the filing calls Gill, plus NEC claims asserted on behalf of approximately 2,000 additional infants. According to the company's press release, Abbott reached the agreements with three law firms. Abbott says the agreements are a compromise of disputed claims and not in any way an admission of liability.
NEC is an inflammatory intestinal disease that typically affects premature infants, according to the press release. Abbott says it remains confident in the safety of the products and the science supporting them. It also says it believes the settlement is in its best long-term interest and is a constructive step toward substantially resolving the overall litigation.
The Gill verdict and the choice to settle
In a July 2024 Missouri state court trial, a jury awarded the plaintiff Gill $495 million in damages. Abbott appealed to the Missouri Court of Appeals in December 2024. The Missouri Court of Appeals affirmed the verdict in May 2026.
The filing says Abbott settled "rather than continuing to appeal or paying approximately $600 million," which it describes as the Gill judgment plus accrued interest to date. The approximately $670 million covers Gill and the claims for the roughly 2,000 other infants together. The filing does not split that amount between the two.
Litigation that remains
The settlement does not end the litigation. After the agreements, the filing says, approximately 1,700 lawsuits remain pending in federal and state courts, involving claims on behalf of approximately 12,700 individual infants.
Abbott says that population includes claims by people who named both Abbott and Mead Johnson as defendants without saying which manufacturer's formula was given, people diagnosed with NEC before receiving any formula, people never diagnosed with NEC, and people who appear in multiple lawsuits in different jurisdictions. Abbott says it continues to work to identify and eliminate such claims. Abbott's 10-K had reported 1,760 pending lawsuits in federal and state courts as of January 31, 2026, with plaintiffs seeking various damages, including punitive damages.
The press release also lists court rulings the company describes as favorable to preterm formula makers. In July 2026, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit affirmed a pretrial judgment for Abbott in the first federal multidistrict litigation bellwether case involving its preterm infant formulas. In June 2026, the Illinois Appellate Court reversed a $60 million verdict against Mead Johnson. In March 2026, a Florida state court dismissed claims involving preterm infant formula.
About the company
Abbott Laboratories is an Illinois corporation, incorporated in 1900. In its Form 10-K filed February 20, 2026, the company said its principal business is the discovery, development, manufacture and sale of a broad line of healthcare products. It reports four segments: Established Pharmaceutical Products, Diagnostic Products, Nutritional Products and Medical Devices. The 10-K also said Abbott had entered into a definitive agreement on November 19, 2025 to acquire Exact Sciences Corporation, subject to customary closing conditions.
Abbott furnished the press release, Exhibit 99.1, under Item 7.01 and described the litigation update under Item 8.01.
People named in the filing
Philip P. Boudreau, Executive Vice President, Finance and Chief Financial Officer, signed the 8-K for Abbott. Robert B. Ford, Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer, signed the 10-K.